Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) told Meet the Press' David Gregory Sunday that he hopes Democrats are nervous about their election chances next year.
The Democratic governor said Sunday that such worries are warranted, because they reflect the feeling of the general population.
Check out the exchange below:
Gregory: The president seems to be against the wall here as we begins this campaign for re-election. a top adviser, David Axelrod, now outside the White House, but he was his communications adviser, gave a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday. this is what he said. "We have the wind in our face because the American people have the wind in their faces. and so this is going to be a titanic struggle. but I firmly believe we're on the right side of the struggle." A titanic struggle. So what's the president have? What does he have as a message? Has he found his voice to overcome that struggle?
Patrick: Well, first of all, I think it's important to point out the president's not taking this election for granted. and candidates shouldn't. I hope Democrats are nervous. I think that that's more consistent with how people are feeling in the general population. And I think the question is, do we want a government that is on the side of helping people help themselves? Or do we want a philosophy which the national Republican Party has been pushing anyway, which says that everybody's on his or her own? I think at the end of the day, the American people are going to choose a partnership with leadership in the form of President Obama, which is about helping people help themselves. And the jobs bill is just the most recent. And I think very important.
Gregory: "What is he doing now? Is this a base strategy? Is that where you think the president finds his voice?
Patrick: "You might be asking the wrong person. Because I don't do all the strategies and all that stuff. I think the president is about trying to make sure that every American, regardless of party, those who see themselves as democrats or republicans, or don't see themselves as aligned at all, understand that he is on their side, and with this jobs bill, he can help. We can help."
Watch the video below:
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